18 November 2007

You know that show "The Call"? Its hosted by your boy super-journalist John Schiumo. Its a topical call-in show but its basically Double A ball for prank callers to cut their teeth before moving on to the big leagues. I really don't think anyone takes the show very seriously. I mean, its hosted by John Schiumo for christ's sake!

So anyway the other night the topic on "The Call" was Bernard Kerik, the former NYPD commissioner facing a 16-count federal indictment, and the indictment’s effect on Giuliani's presidential campaign.

Dalton asked “So which is the real Bernie Kerik?” “Is it the one who pleads not guilty before or is it the one who pleads guilty after he cuts a deal that he’s comfortable with?”

Then he said "BabaBooeyBabaBooey! Howard Stern Rules!" and hung up.

Suffice to say, Ramsay is no longer with NY1. No more fresh bread from the Chelsea Market for Gary A.

We're not sure if he was fired or he quit. NY1 says his contract was up and after 15 years Ramsay decided to move on; but my sources are saying he was fired because of the prank call.

I have no idea why Ramsay admitted to it in the first place! The first rule of prank calls and being busted is Deny Everything!

Super-journalist John Schiumo called Ramsay after the show and said he recognised his voice and Ramsay apologised instantly instead of just denying it and telling Schiumo he was an idiot.

I guess Ramsay was home alone and frustrated because he had in fact applied for some other gig and got word that it was given to some other reporter so maybe he was on his way out of NY1 anyway and just said fuck it - let me call Schiumo's stupid show and bust his balls.

Ramsay joined NY1 in 1992, when the station first went on the air, and covered a range of stories, including the 1993 and 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the war in Iraq. He is the president of the New York Association of Black Journalists, and has received numerous awards from industry groups, including the Radio and Television News Directors Association. I think he's up for The Jerky Boys Award as well.

Ramsay says he never deceived viewers or his sources while reporting a story. “What disturbs me is that this lapse in judgment —and that’s what you can call it, a lapse in judgment — is going to undo more than 15 years of hard-charging, quality journalism in New York and abroad,” he said.

Relax, Ramsay. No one watches NY1 and no one thought you were the next Ed Murrow before this incident.